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FOUR WAY REVIEW

WE ARE ALL NAMED AFTER SOMEONE by Matthew Zhao

by Matthew Zhao / Monday, 14 April 2025 / Published in Issue 32
Man in green t shirt (Matthew Zhao) looks off camera. https://fourwayreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/We-Are-All-Named-After-Someone-reading.mp3

 

                   Fight me.
                          —Caravaggio, probably

Caravaggio wanted to be a
          Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
but he was a century too late,
          his name already taken.
I mean, who the hell is
          this other Michelangelo?
The Sistine Chapel doesn’t even have
          chiaroscuro, light and dark,
like the Turtles joking around in
          dank sewers, wondering why
there was no pizza at The Last Supper.
          It’s just lamb or whatever but
I’m sick of eating catered meals when
          the body craves intangibles
like fame and love and some golden gift
          that lets us save others.

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Man in green t shirt (Matthew Zhao) looks off camera.

About Matthew Zhao

Matthew Zhao’s first poetry collection, KING OF SONG, was a finalist in the National Poetry Series, a semifinalist in The Word Works Washington Prize, and longlisted in the Lost Horse Press Idaho Prize. His poetry has appeared in Mississippi Review and swamp pink. He received his BA from the University of Michigan and MFA from Florida State University.

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